Instructions
Locate the tags on the dog's collar. Do so very carefully, as a strange dog may be fearful of you and misunderstand your intentions. There may be two tags on the dog's collar. One will be an identification tag with the dog's name and the owner's phone number. If you find the I.D. tag, call the number on the tag to notify the owner that you have his dog.
The other tag is a county-issued rabies tag engraved with a year and a series of numbers. The rabies tag is usually color-coded according to the year it was issued.
Make a note of the number on the rabies tag, if there is one. The rabies tag is issued by the county in which the dog lives and is indicative of the owner's discharging of her statutory responsibility to have the dog vaccinated against rabies. Each rabies tag correlates with a certificate. The tag and certificate share a registration number. The name of the county in which the tag was issued is on the tag. Find the number of that county's animal control facility and call the main number. Some counties provide their number on the back of the rabies tag, but you may have to look up the number in the phone book, online or by calling directory assistance.
Report the lost dog to the animal control dispatcher, and explain that the dog has a rabies tag. Read the number off the tag to the dispatcher. She will look up the number and give you the contact information of the person to whom the rabies certificate was issued. The certificate will also have the name of the veterinarian who administered the vaccine, so be sure to ask for that as well. You can then contact that person via phone.
If the animal control facility has a policy about not giving out owner's contact information, leave your phone number and ask that the owner be contacted and given a message to call you back.
How to Locate an Owner by a Dog Tag Number
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, there are over 5,000 animal shelters across the USA. It can be difficult to figure out just where to call when you find a lost dog wearing a tag. Between 5 and 7 million companion animals are brought to shelters every year and of those, only 15 percent to 20 percent of the dogs are returned to their owners. Dogs with a microchip, tattoo or tag have a much better chance of finding their way back home.